(REOPENS DEL 103)

As a result, India accounts for over 36,000 motorcycle deaths annually, which is mainly due to non-use of helmets, he said quoting a latest study published by the United Nations. While there has been good progress till date in the UNECE region to bring down road fatalities, the estimated number of deaths worldwide shows no overall reduction (about 1.25 million deaths worldwide), the statement said. "This means that fatalities have increased in countries outside of UNECE. Moreover, overall vehicle traffic is forecast to increase particularly in low and middle income countries where United Nations road safety legal instruments are generally not well known and used," it added. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has made cutting down road accident fatalities as one of the major programmes of his ministry. India at present accounts for one of the highest number of road accidents across the globe at about 5 lakh per annum in which 1.5 lakh people die and another 3 lakh are crippled. PTI RNK ARD

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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